


Man's Best Friend; Man's Greatest Weakness

by toomuchdiscourse (orphan_account)



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Dogs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Puppies, Puppy Piles, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 10:10:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9435569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/toomuchdiscourse
Summary: Imagine Burr coming home one day to a full litter of puppies. The squad was fostering a pregnant dog, but a few weeks after delivery, it becomes clear that their house is too small and cluttered to properly puppy-proof. Burr's house is much more suited, but the chances of him agreeing are so low...





	

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by this wonderful piece of art by @ouioui-monamii ->http://ouioui-monamii.tumblr.com/post/155178732030/may-i-request-a-happy-burr-like-he-has

They all expect to have to grovel for this one, having asked for forgiveness rather than permission, and knowing how clean and tidy Burr likes things. When Burr gets home, he walks straight to his living room, knowing the identity of his company from the vehicles in the driveway. He’s not expecting the swarm of puppies immediately jumping at his knees and tugging at the hem of his pants.

Burr does not react right away, his expression carefully neutral. The room is silent. Lafayette tries to escape out the back, but Laurens blocks the way- they’re all part of this. Alex is staring at Burr with challenge in his eyes, but biting his cheeks for once to avoid speaking first. Hercules looks unruffled, but there is a telling sheen of sweat on his brows.

The moment freezes, and the air feels as heavy as ice. The puppies are the opposite of silent, all high pitched yelping and barking. No one pays them attention, the equivalent of television static when put against the sheer tension in the room.  
Then Burr sits down: gracefully, slowly, like it is the most natural thing to do in that moment. His knees unbend, legs splaying comfortably out. The puppies take immediate, enthusiastic advantage and Burr is soon covered in them.

“I can die happy, now”, Burr breaks the silence with a solemn and almost dreamy voice. He spreads his arms out and gently scoops three puppies at once. They oblige easily, tumbling over his chest and licking every bit of face they can reach. Slowly, Burr lays himself down completely, and all of the dogs are suddenly on his face, his chest, his legs.

“This is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” Burr says with the conviction of a man who has thought long and hard, and considered every possible answer. He closes his eyes, content. The others consider that they had never thought to even ask if Burr was a dog person

Burr does eventually collect himself, after playing with puppies for nearly a full hour, blank face easing into a tiny, ultra content smile. He dotes on the mother for another twenty minutes after that, making everyone wonder why they had ever considered Burr emotionless.

Still, when they (rather, an eye-rolling Laurens, when everyone else is too cowardly to speak up) explain the situation, it takes Burr a long time to answer. His focused stare is as oppressive as it always is, threatening and heavy, but after the previous events it doesn’t hold half as much weight. No one is surprised at the eventual affirmative, however when Alex opens his mouth to say something, likely mocking, Hercules is quick to slap a hand over it.

The puppies and mother settle in, along with the four house crashers, as per their agreement to do all the hard work. They do not exactly live there as the dogs do, but there is always someone present, to the point where they may as well be. Things are tense, the first time one pup relieves herself in the wrong spot, but Burr merely leads the puppy away gently while nodding to Lafayette nearby- who, to his credit, almost leaps to the paper towel and cleaning spray.

It is Lafayette also, who discreetly phones Madison later. He is the only one of the four on regularly good terms with Burr’s older friends. Or rather, most of them besides Alex get along with Madison, it’s Jefferson that’s the problem, and spending time with one is nearly impossible without the other.

Surely enough, soon after the pleasantries and right after Lafayette poses his question, a loud, distinctive laughter bursts out from somewhere in the background. It goes on for nearly a full minute, and Lafayette can hear a slight hitch in Madison’s breath that suggests he is hiding a similar outburst.

“You probably made his year.” Madison finally says, failing to suppress a short chuckle.

“I fear we made his whole life,” Lafayette whines back.

Jefferson starts yelling something in the background, but Madison moves to another room. “He wants to know how none of you knew about this before now. Aaron adores anything with fur. It’s not exactly subtle.”

“How are we supposed to know when he doesn’t have any pets? He never reacts to anything!”  
“Take him to a petstore someday, and you’ll realize how stupid that statement sounds. As for the question, you could always ask him.”

Lafayette takes this advice, first by asking Burr why he doesn’t own any pets. He hopes the question doesn’t need further context, as he asks this while Burr is somehow cuddling with seven puppies at once, five sleeping on him and two playing with his sleeves.

Burr’s face crumples, and Lafayette immediately realizes that his expression this whole time had been bliss, not blank. He wishes it would come back, as a sad little crease knits across Burr’s forehead. “I always fear that they will die.” The answer is soft, but tired, and Lafayette’s heart breaks.

“Are..” He hasn’t for years, but somehow Lafayette stumbles over his words, “Are you worried about the responsibility? You are maybe the second most responsible person I know, after my Hercules.” And Burr smiles a bit, at the possessive. Lafayette is warmed, knowing the encouragement for what it is.

“No,” Burr pauses, considers, and looks down again. His shoulders shift away from Lafayette slightly, implying a removal from the conversation. Before Lafayette can apologize or simply leave however, Burr’s mouth opens again. “I guess you could say instead that I fear something will kill them. It’s how things seem to go with me.”  
Lafayette is aghast and it shows. Burr’s eyes widen when he sees. “Oh, that sounds very pessimistic, sorry. It’s an ingrained fear, not a logical one.” When Lafayette’s expression remains unchanged, Burr puts on a fake, quirked smile. “Besides, I suppose any animal of mine would live a lot longer without my uncle in the picture.”

If anything, Lafayette gapes more. Burr apologizes again, for souring the mood of all things. He apologizes again, at the startle when Lafayette pulls Burr into an impulsive bear hug.

They do later take Burr to a pet store, needing to visit one anyways for more supplies. The reaction is even better than promised. Laurens convinces the employee to let Burr hold the store's hedgehog, and they all pretend not to notice the little tear he blinks away. All except for Alex whose eyebrows raise and mouth opens, but Lafayette kicks his shin before he can say anything. Burr is lost to the world.

“It’s just so cute,” Burr mutters as he gently passes the hedgehog back. His voice is thick, almost but not quite choking. Lafayette touches him on the back, softly as he can because Burr seems impossibly soft in this moment.

“It sure is, buddy,” Hercules pats Burr’s shoulder, shooting Lafayette a knowing look. Laurens laughs, a sound of pure enjoyment, bare of any teasing. Alex considers saying something but doesn’t, which is more telling than anything he could have said.

…  
All of the puppies were reserved within a week of birth, of course, and the mother not terribly long after. They were fostering, not rescuing after all, and cute puppies are hardly a challenge to adopt out. Burr hugs each pup as long as they will tolerate, and quietly tears up at each adoption.

That Christmas, they all pitch in to buy Burr a puppy.

**Author's Note:**

> related tumblr is @burreos where stuff gets posted first, and where I'd probably field the occasional request or something


End file.
